Jezero crater, Mars

Description: This oblique view looks to the west from above the Jezero crater floor, over the fan-shaped delta deposit, and into the valley that cuts through the crater rim. The Perseverance Mars rover will land near this delta to search for evidence of past life and collect samples that could be returned to Earth by a later mission. Deltas form when flowing water is slowed down by encountering standing water, causing sediment to be deposited. On Earth, deltas are excellent at concentrating and preserving evidence of life, making this delta on Mars an appealing target. The Mars 2020 spacecraft will carry the same image mosaic used to generate the view shown here onboard and use it to steer itself away from hazards on the surface such as cliffs and dune fields. The seamless mosaic is composed of multiple precisely aligned images from the Context Camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and has a resolution of 6 meters per pixel. The large crater on the delta has a diameter of roughly 1km.